An Indigo Nightmare
by Somnolentus
Summary: Princess Celestia was not the only one who took a personal student. Luna did as well, even as she changed to Nightmare Moon. Her student changed with her, and when she fell, so did he. 1,000 years later, a unicorn wakes up in the Everfree forest with only a foggy idea of who he is. When the truth is revealed, old emotions stir within Luna. Can she fight off the dark magic? Can he?
1. Prologue: Rise of a Nightmare

Prologue: Rise of a Nightmare

Nightmare Moon. To this very day the name strikes fear and awe into the hearts of ponies across Equestria. The story of this legendary Alicorn is well known to all ponyfolk. There are facts of this tale, however, that have been lost. Even to the memories of the Royal Sisters who lived through the dark time.

From time to time through the history of Equestria Princess Celestia has taken gifted unicorns on as her personal students. Few know that Princess Luna also once did this. It was true even as Luna began her dark conversion to Nightmare Moon. Her student at the time tried, as Celestia did, to talk Luna down. But the twisted princess violently refused. She attacked her student and almost stuck him down when she realized something. Her student knew the ways of the night better than almost anypony. He knew her. He knew the ways of her dark magic.

Luna savagely invaded his mind and twisted it. The same jealousy warping the princess warped him. Her student became Nightmare Moon's right hand. Her knife in the dark. Her key to rising. If he had been remembered, perhaps the War could have been avoided. Perhaps many would still be alive. Her student's name was, and is, Indigo Sky...

1,000 years ago

Indigo walked with swift steps down the darkened castle corridor. Each hooffall reverberated loudly and Indigo winced. It was damned near impossible to walk silently in this infernal castle. He eventually arrived at moderate set of double doors with a golden sun inlaid on them. Two pegasi guards stood at stoic attention in front of the doors and watched Indigo as he approached. The dark colored unicorn smiled as he looked between the guards, stopping a few paces away. "Greetings, fellows. Is Sunny in?"

"Yes she is. I believe she is reading by the fire. Would you like me to tell you are here sir?"

"I don't think that will be necessary,"

The two guards gasped and leveled their pikes as Indigo quickly shot a beam of magic toward each of them. The first guard collapsed wordlessly to the ground as the purple-blue bolt impacted his chest. The second guard narrowly blocked the bolt with his pike and quickly jabbed at Indigo. The unicorn jumped out of the way as the long spear impacted the floor with a clang. He quickly picked up the fallen guards pike and drove it forward with lightning speed. With a satisfying crunch the pike drove smoothly into the pegasus just above his collar bone. The guards eyes bulged out as fell sideways and lay on the floor, gasping and coughing up blood. Only when the guard finally stilled did Indigo turn and open the door.

Sunny Sky sat in a large armchair with it's back to the door. A fire crackled warmly in a large fireplace a few feet away, casting a soft glow across most of the room. Sunny's large four poster bed sat to the right of the door, and a large mirror and dresser sat on the far let wall. Apart from this the dark yellow room was mostly bare, save for and intricately woven rug depicting a sun in the likeness of Celestia's cutie mark. Sunny was intently reading a book levitating before her and did not notice Indigo quietly slip into the room.

For a moment Indigo was content to sit in the narrow band of flickering shadows near the door as he watched her. After a few seconds he stepped into the soft light. "Hello Sunny," The yellow unicorn jumped and dropped her book to the floor with a thud. She whipped her head around and breathed a sigh of relief, putting her hoof to her beating heart. "Oh, it's just you brother. You really must stop scaring me like that," she said with a chuckle as she picked up her book again with her magic. Indigo smiled and walked to the armchair opposite Sunny's. "I did not intend to frighten you," the unicorn said as he looked into the fire. "I just needed to ask you a few things," Sunny raised her eyebrow quizzically but did not look up from her book.

"You're Celestia's student," The way Indigo said it was more like he was talking to himself than Sunny.

"Of course I am, and you're Luna's," Sunny said with a confused look.

"You would do anything Celestia asked of you?"

"To a degree. She is both my mentor and princess, but I must listen to my own conscience,"

Indigo sighed and stared into the fire. "That's what I thought,"

"Hey," Sunny said with a concerned expression "What's wrong?"

He looked into his sister's concerned, sincere face and sighed again. "I'm sorry," but his face did not look sorry. It looked a bit like he was throwing away an old book he didn't need anymore. A little wistful, but by no stretch of the imagination sorry. He even looked like he pitied her.

Sunny began to ask what he was sorry about when he shot her in the chest with a bolt of magic. Sunny's heart stopped immediately, but she lay gasping in a terrified panic for several moments afterward as Indigo looked blankly at her. Her face showed an expression of suck despair, betrayal, and terror that he frowned and looked away. As Sunny stilled and slipped into blackness, her last thought was: why?

Indigo slowly closed the door behind him as he slipped back into the corridor outside Sunny's room. For the time being he had laid Sunny to rest in her bed. He would come and give her a proper burial later. Not for any emotional reasons, but simply for the sake of respect. He kicked one of the guards bodies away without a second glance as he strode back down the hall. A dark shape sat in front of a window a few paces away, looking out over the sleeping village around the castle. Indigo bowed to princess Luna as she turned and looked down to him. "Is Sunny disposed of?" she inquired, as if asking what time it was. "Yes she is Mistress. I tried to thin out the ranks of the guards as much as I could on my way, but I unfortunately did not run into many," Indigo said as he followed Luna, who was walking down a side passageway toward the throne room. The princess sniffed but continued to walk. "No matter. I go to confront Celestia now, and no prattling guards will stand in my way,"

"Do you wish me to accompany you?" Indigo asked as they reached the doors to the throne room.

"No. Stay outside the doors and insure nopony enters," as she opened the door and stepped through.

"Yes, princess," even though she was gone.

Indigo turned and planted himself firmly, scanning the dark passage for any sign of movement. From within the chamber Indigo heard muffled voices, then a loud crack and a low boom. Immediately after a low cackling reverberated through the castle. Indigo smiled wickedly and whispered to himself. "Destroy her, mistress, and the night will last eternal,"

A series of loud blasts followed, and small bits of rubble fell from the ceiling above Indigo. Soon the blasts grew more distant, as if the princesses were flying away, then... silence. Indigo shifted uncertainty and glanced toward the door. Should he go in and see if the princess had won, or stay put? He decided to stay put and planted his hooves wider apart, though his ears were focused on the throne room. Indigo heard a sound like sliding stone and then the grinding of gears. He frowned and shifted again. A moment later there was the unmistakable sound of a powerful magical discharge. Indigo finally turned and threw open the doors as Nightmare Moon bellowed "NOOOOOOO!"

Indigo watched slack jawed as his mentor, mistress, and friend was carried to the moon by the powerful magic. Anger first, then fury, bubbled within him as he looked to Celestia, floating above the destroyed ceiling. With a furious roar Indigo poured all the magical energy he could into a single blast, which connected with the Princess as she turned to look at him. One more explosion shook the castle as Indigo collapsed on the floor from the drain of the magic. Slowly, he dragged himself to his hooves and shook his head. Was she gone? Was that vile wretched excuse for a pony gone?

The unicorn's heart dropped to Tartarus as the dust cleared to reveal Celestia's steely but tear stricken face as the protective shield created by the elements faded. "Indigo Sky. I expected better of you," Even in his suddenly exhausted and foggy minded state, Indigo managed to smirk. "I suppose it's the gallows for me then,"

"No,"

Indigo looked up at the princess in surprise, and suddenly a little hopeful. That hope quickly faded as the elements spun faster.

"If you so blindly wish to follow Luna, you will share her fate," Celestia said coldly. Indigo was now truly scared. He had never seen Celestia like this, and it was utterly terrifying. Yet another huge beam of magic was sent forth from the elements, enveloping Indigo. The unicorn screamed at the top of his lungs. This was by far the worst pain he had ever experienced in his entire life. It felt as if a white-hot knife was being driven into his very being. Indigo's soul was shredded into tiny shreds before being thrown out of the castle and into the Everfree forest. Pain was the last thing Indigo Sky felt before the darkness of 1,000 years enveloped him.


	2. Chapter 1: A Rude Awakening

Present day:

The noonday sun shone gently down across the Everfree forest, casting away the shadows that clung on wherever the could. In a small clearing deep within the forest, a large crystal spire rose into the air. The pale blue crystal gleamed with the light of the sun. But something dark was swirling within. Twisted veins of blackness began to expand from the crystals heart, converging again near the base. A soft black light emanated from the point where the veins converged. The black light, or anti-light rather, began to grow in intensity. As the light expanded there was a loud snap as the crystal cracked. Several loud pops and bangs reverberated through the still woods as more and more fissures raced up the crystal spire. Finally, with a loud bang the spire shattered into several hundred pieces, which blew out across the clearing.

A smaller dome of crystal sat where the large spire once lay. The once white crystal had turned a dark purple, and it too was cracking. Considerably less spectacular than the spire, the crystal dome slowly disintegrated.

An indigo colored colt lay unconscious where the crystals had been. The unicorn breathed at a steady pace and simply lay still for several moments. The stallion grimaced, still unconscious, as his coat began to softly glow. A semiliquid mass seemed to seep from within the unicorn as his horn began to glow as well. As more of the dark magic left, the unicorn underwent a noticeable physical change.

The colts coat became a slightly lighter shade as the black tinge of it disappeared. His mane and tail softened in both their feel and color, and his teeth lost their pointedness. The most noticeable change was his eyes, even though they were currently closed. His eyes before had been like that of a dragon. Or Nightmare Moon. The unicorns pupil reverted back to it's oval shape, the whites of his eyes returned, and his irises went from a pale turquoise to their natural navy blue color. After a while the glow faded and the unicorn resumed his peaceful semi-sleep.

. . .

Indigo woke with a groan and shakily got to his hooves. Where in the name of Celestia was he? He looked up at the sky and judged it to be around noon. God his head ached. Indigo brought a hoof to his forehead and shook his head, trying to clear away the fogginess. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was conversing with Luna about something. Though what that something was escaped him. With a jolt Indigo realized his memories had been altered. He could tell from the blurriness of most of his recent memories and the fact that they just felt...wrong. Indigo frowned and closed his eyes as he focused. His horn glowed with a dark purple light as he cast a spell to restore his memory. The spell fell disgustingly short. Indigo gasped as his legs wobbled and almost gave out underneath him. Who, or what, ever had manipulated his mind had been very thorough. He was sure that none of the spells he could do would be sufficient. He needed to find somepony with magic stronger than his to perform the spell. Problem was he had no idea where he was or how he got here. Or how to get out. A loud snap caused Indigo's ears to shoot up as he whipped his head around. In the pushes several meters away was a pair of glowing eyes. Without hesitation Indigo shot a blast of magic into the bush and took off in the other direction. Oh this would not be fun at all.


	3. Chapter 2: What Comes out of the Forest

Twilight Sparkle emerged from the Everfree, humming to herself as went through the contents of her saddlebags. It was very nice of Zecora to let Twilight borrow some of her potions. The purple unicorn was interested in their chemical makeup and scientific properties. She could hardly wait to get back home and start her tests. As Twilight replaced the potions in her saddlebags, she heard a faint rustling in the pushes a few yards off the path.

The mare froze mid step and slowly turned to face the direction of the rustling. "Hello?" Twilight asked cautiously. "Is anypony there?" as she finished speaking there was a loud crash as something barreled out of the forest. Twilight leapt out of the way as something large and dark flew past her. She saw it was in fact two things, struggling back and forth. The two disengaged and sized each other up. One of them was a Lupus Major, a hulking constellation beast in the form of a giant wolf the size of Princess Celestia. The other combatant was a dark purple colored pony with a disheveled black mane. His horn glowed intensely bright and his eyes shined a deep blue. An aura of magical protection surrounded the ponies body, crackling white and fizzling with energy. The stallion seemed unsteady on his feet and was breathing very heavily as he and the Lupus circled each other. Before Twilight or the unicorn could do anything, the Lupus roared and pounced forward.

The stallion yelled and sidestepped, but wasn't quite fast enough. The Lupus' dagger like claws raked along his side and created a very high clang as they impacted his shield. The force of the impact sent the unicorn flying back several meters before he rolled across the ground. Without breaking stride, the Lupus lunged again. Suddenly the constellation beast felt the wind knocked out of it as a powerful magic blast hit it in the ribs. It rolled across the ground much the same way the unicorn had done. It rose to it's feet and quickly shook it's head, turning to face the new threat. Twilight stood in front of the other unicorn, hooves planted hard and horn flaring. The stallion rose behind her and stood at her side. He gave her a small nod before they began to circle the Lupus. Although not intelligent in traditional equestrian terms, Lupus Majors possessed amazing powers of intuition. He, for it was a male, quickly judged his previous opponent to have more combat experience than this new adversary. The Lupus whipped around and took a quick swipe at Twilight. The mare ducked out of the way and shot a blast of magic toward the creature. The Lupus stumbled back as the magic hit it under the chin and jerked it's head backward. It was then hit from the other direction and jumped backward to avoid anymore hits. The Lupus warily watched the two unicorns as they stood firm, horns flaring painfully bright and steely gazes fixed on it. The Lupus knew it could not win. With a final growl the monster turned and retreated back into the forest.

Instantly the pairs magic faded as Twilight let out her breath. That was scary. Twilight yelped a little as the other unicorn collapsed against her. He was panting very heavily and his legs were shaking like leaves. "Oh gosh," Twilight said worriedly as the other unicorn limply draped his foreleg over her shoulder. "We need to get you to the hospital!" she said as she struggled to walk and keep the stallion up at the same time. "I..." with that single letter he fell unconscious, collapsing with a thud on the ground. Twilight started to panic and picked him up with her magic. She could tell that he needed help right away. Whatever that Lupus had done in the forest was clearly magical, and not friendly. The stallion's coat and even his black mane were becoming more and more pale. He even looked a little thinner. It seemed like all the vitality was being drained from his body. Oh, the hospital was on the other side of town! By the time she got there he might be...no, that was not not going to happen. Wait...Zecora! Twilight gasped and spun back around toward the forest, running as fast as she could back toward the zebra's house. He was not going to die, he was not going to die, he was not going to die!

Indigo groaned as he woke and tried to open his eyes. His head throbbed and he was incredibly sore, but alive as far as he could tell. Indigo slowly sat up and shook his head. Finally he managed to open his eyes and took in his surroundings. He was laying in a bed in a darkened building. Shelves and shelves of potions lined the dark tree bark colored walls and many decorative masks hung next to them. In the center of the one room house was a large cauldron that gave off a soft green light and sent pale green smoke toward the ceiling. Two mares sat before the cauldron with their backs to him, talking to each other in hushed voices. One was a zebra, with bright gold rings around her right foreleg and neck, and large gold earrings. The other was a light purple unicorn with a darker purple mane with lighter streaks running through it. He recognized her as the pony who had helped him against the Lupus.

"Where...where am I?" Indigo asked the ponies by the cauldron. The purple one jumped a little and turned around. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw that he was awake and okay. She walked over to him, trailed by the zebra, who had a small smile on her face. "You're in Zecora's hut," said the purple unicorn as she put a hoof to his forehead. He waved her away and sat up further as he looked back and forth between them. Twilight saw the worry in his eyes and chuckled a little. "Hey, you're okay. I'm Twilight Sparkle, it's nice to formally meat you," she said and put out her hoof.

Indigo climbed out of the bed and bowed deeply. Twilight pulled her hoof back, confused. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Indigo Sky, captain of her majesties first infantry division: Gold Brigade," Everything about those sentences caused Twilight's head to spin. The first infantry hadn't been in service for more than four hundred years. And even before the first was dissolved, Gold Brigade had been obliterated in the battle of Tijuan Heights not long after Nightmare Moon's fall. That was more than 1,000 years ago. Twilight looked to Zecora and saw she was just as confused as Twilight. Indigo stood and raised an eyebrow at the surrounding hut, apparently unphased by the mares' confusion. "And where, pray tell, am I exactly?" Another weird thing. His speech was very formal and sounded almost archaic. "Umm...In the Everfree forest," Twilight said hesitantly. She was surprised to see that he simply shrugged off the information. To even be near the forest would have terrified most ponies out of their skin. Well, then again, he was the one who had rolled out fighting a Lupus Major. "Are we anywhere near the castle?" he asked curiously. Twilight grew even more confused. "No, not really. It's deeper in the forest,"

Indigo furrowed his eyebrows and frowned. "Why are you speaking in such a manner? Your speech seems most strange,"

"Me? You're the one speaking like you came out of some old storybook,"

"What do you mean?" Indigo seemed as confused as Twilight.

"If I may interject," said Zecora as she stepped forward. "We have not yet used my potions to their full affect," she walked past the bubbling cauldron to the far wall, carefully taking down a small flask. "What is it that afflicts your mind? The right brew here you will certainly find," she said with a wink and smile. Indigo stared open mouthed. Damn she was good at picking up on things. "To me it appears that I have fallen victim to a memory charm. And a very powerful one for me not to be able to undo it," Indigo said as he walked to Zecora with Twilight following close behind. "I do believe this potion will do," Zecora said as she replaced the small flask and grabbed a larger vial. "It will certainly help with that which ails you,"

Indigo carefully took the potion with his magic and uncorked the flask. He looked back at Twilight, but she was staring at him with furrowed eyebrows and a frown, like she was still extremely confused by him. Finally Indigo shrugged and took a swig of the potion. Instantly an intense burning agony shot through his head and he dropped the potion to the floor with a clatter. Indigo made a sound somewhere between a groan and a scream as he swayed unsteadily. Indigo dropped to his haunches when a second wave of agony hit and put his hooves to his head. The last thing he saw was Twilight and Zecora coming over before the ground rushed up to meet him.


	4. Chapter 3: Siege of the Crystal Empire

Indigo stood among many hundred ponies of her majesties army, watching as general Storm Fury prepared to speak. The sky was a dull, lifeless gray, and the Equestrian flag snapped in the cold wind behind the general. The soldiers were stone still. Indigo saw himself standing in the crowd, plumed captain's helmet waving with the wind. The general began his speech, but the words were lost to Indigo. After a while the general finished and the army began to move into position. Indigo, or rather, past Indigo, gathered his Gold Brigade and gave his orders along with the other captains of the first. The spell casters, Gold Brigade, were spread through out the ranks of the first. Indigo took up his position in the second rank and looked out over the landscape. In the distance was their objective. Their target. The point of this entire damned campaign. The Crystal Empire. The once sparkling and glorious place had deteriorated severely. Frequent bombardment from the army had left the empire pock marked with craters and deep cracks in the crystal. The dreaded King Sombra had turned the black crystal spires that had replaced the once beautiful buildings into a high, dark wall. Although from this distance he could hardly see them, Sombra's shadow minions patrolled the wall. Indigo knew there were more behind it. A whole damn army of them. This was shaping up to be the largest battle Equestria had seen in eight hundred years.

A low horn echoed over the silent army as the general bellowed his magical enhanced orders to the assembled army. Silently, the front rank began their advance toward the walls of the empire. Past Indigo followed close behind, and Indigo found himself floating along behind. Loud horns sounded from within the empire and there was a surge of activity on the walls. Oh Celestia, Indigo remembered himself thinking here we go.

The sound of a much louder horn than the first rolled over the army and with a great roar, Equestria's royal army began it's true assault on the Crystal Empire. Several dozen beams of dark magic arched toward the army from within the empire. "SPELL CASTERS READY!" bellowed the general. Indigo and the other spell casters of Gold Brigade, along with their brothers from the other divisions preparing as well. A plethora of magical energy enveloped the army as Indigo and the other captains directed the spell casters. A crackle of energy ran across the magical aura. The energy gathered in several dozen spots across the army. With a massive booming roar the collective energy shot out in many beams that connected with the dark magic in mid-air. Massive, multi-colored explosions filled the gray sky with a menagerie of colored energy that quickly faded. "RETURN FIRE!" from the general. Past Indigo took a deep breath and focused all the energy he could into the blast. This time, hundreds of smaller beams shot toward the empire. Most exploded near the walls as the enemy countered them. Some, however, impacted the walls. Dark minions scattered in a panic as several explosions rocked the wall facing the army. Indigo smiled despite himself. He knew they had a better army, his compatriots knew it as well. It well prevalent on their faces. And soon those wretched hell spawn would know it as well. The great crystal walls loomed larger and larger as a series of dark masses took to the skies and dove toward the army. "PEGASI, TO THE SKIES!" the general shouted enthusiastically. Roughly a third of the army detached and rose into the air to meet the threat in the skies.

Indigo ignored the impressive glittering display and continued to sprint for the walls. Arrow fire was raining down on the army now. Several bolts of magic shot toward the walls from within the ranks and there was a controlled volley of archer fire before the order was given to fire at will. Indigo dodged a bolt of dark magic and shot his own in the general direction it had come from. Somepony shrieked behind him and fell, but Indigo kept running. It was to the medics to take care of the wounded. Finally Indigo reached the wall and skidded to a was one of the first there, so it fell to him to defend the siege ladders rapidly approaching. He saw a minion drawing a bow and shot it with his magic. It wordlessly turned to black smoke. He repeated this process, trying to hold off as many as he could as the massive siege ladders rose. Finally the ladders' spikes impaled the hard crystal of the wall and the first ponies climbed their way up. Indigo swung onto the nearest ladder and quickly started to climb. A shaft whizzed past his head and he fired in toward the shooter. Indigo climbed faster and soon jumped over the top of the wall.

There were already about ten ponies on this section of wall, all trying to fend off the minions while attempting to form ranks to easily let other ponies up the ladders. A minion rushed at Indigo with it's sword raised and he casually blasted it into smoke. He picked up the creature's sword with his own magic and jumped into the fray. A brown earth pony was getting badly beaten back by four dark minions. There were cuts all over his body and a large gash over his eyes. He couldn't even raise his sword as the minions closed in on him. With a savage roar Indigo launched himself at the creatures. He caught the first by surprise and rendered it smoke with one clean slice. The second snarled and swung at him in a wide arc to the right. Indigo easily parried the cocky swipe and with a twirl and twist of his steel turned another to smoke. The other two attacked together. Indigo had to move quickly to avoid both of them. As the first stabbed toward his chest Indigo spun around his opponents the sword swinger tried to blast him with magic but Indigo countered with his own and sent the minion screeching off the wall. Two quick blows and a feint to the left were all that was needed to dispatch the last one. He turned to the injured earth pony, who had now collapsed and was bleeding very badly. Wordlessly, Indigo healed all but the smallest scratches on the ponies body. The pony stood and just nodded his head. Indigo dipped his in return. No talk was necessary between them. Indigo turned to face the other minions thick on the wall. One rushed him head long and quickly stabbed at him. Indigo sidestepped and blasted it with magic as he blocked the sword from another and kicked a third in the kneecap. Damn, there were a lot of them. Fighting the minions of darkness was rather... monotonous. They were all smaller underpowered versions of King Sombra. They had no individual intelligence beyond combat and they all fought exactly the same. Though the bastards made up for this with sheer numbers. It seemed there were at least two for every one infantry. Soon, Indigo pulled back with the rest of the soldiers behind the rough about twenty foot wide semicircle around the ladder. The whole throng was thick with ponies shoving against their shadowy counterparts. A unicorn was pushed stumbling back and the minion tried to take advantage of the gap in the line. Indigo rushed forward and slammed his heavily armored shoulder, which served as a shield and battering ram of sorts, into the minion. He grunted with the impact and gritted his teeth as he and the minion pushed furiously against each other. Indigo's blue eyes met the minions red and black ones, and each one held the other's furious stare. Soon Indigo felt the minion giving ground and he began to push it back. The minions eyes went wide as Indigo threw it with a savage roar back into it's comrades. The minion's shield locked together with Indigo's shoulder plates and he was sent toppling along with it. The two struggled on the ground for a moment before Indigo impaled its chest with his sword. The creature burst to smoke and Indigo rose.

Immediately there was a sharp clang of metal and a vibration ran down Indigo's right foreleg from his shoulder. The force drove him to his knees and Indigo had to roll to avoid a downward slash from a sword. Indigo took his own and swung it in a wide circle. The surrounding minions jumped back and he got a little room. Indigo jumped to his feet and quickly looked around. Oh yeah. Shit. He was now closer to the middle of the wall, and was separated from his comrades. As the minions closed in Indigo briefly considered drawing his own sword. But no, he would only use his sword under the most dire circumstances, as it was a gift from Luna and was immensely powerful. Besides, he knew how to handle minions. Indigo picked up several more swords littered across the ground and created a small dome of them around himself. As one, the minions charged forward.

The next several minutes blurred together for Indigo as his brain cooled into an almost trance like state. He let his instincts take over and didn't really think about what was happening. Everything stood out in amazing detail and Indigo knew his opponents moves before they made them. That one's muscle tensed, it's about to spring at him. That one is about to throw it's shield. Swing, cut, parry, jab, feint to the left, upward slash, powerful stab. With each enemy that fell Indigo added their weapon to his growing floating collection until he couldn't hold anymore. The minions flung themselves at him furiously, trying everything they could to get under his guard, make him slip up. But he was only the center of a hurricane of sharp steel that seemed impenetrable. Soon, however, Indigo began to feel the fatigue of constantly moving and maintaining his magic. One by one, the swords he was levitating gradually fell with a clatter to the floor. Indigo stumbled and slumped against the far side of the wall. All but one of the swords clattered to the ground, and the last hovered weakly in the air. Indigo squeezed his eyes shut in anticipation of the blow that would end his life. Nothing happened. Confused, Indigo opened his eyes. What he saw made his jaw drop open. Weapons and helmets were strewn around, but of their owners there was no sign. A section of wall fifty feet across had been completely cleared of minions. The ponies who were near the ladder Indigo was at were slowly fanning out and looking at him in awe. All along the rest of the wall the last of the minions were being driven off and the royal army was streaming freely up the ladders. Several soldiers of the first approached Indigo in awe. "Captain...that was amazing," one of the privates said. Indigo chuckled shortly before his legs buckled and he fell forward. One of the soldiers quickly caught him and propped him up against the wall. "We need a medic over here!"

Indigo didn't really need a medic. He knew it was just magic drain. A light blue unicorn trotted up to them. "What's the problem, you don't look injured,"

"It's just magic drain," Indigo managed to say.

"Oh, one second," the unicorn focused and cast a quick spell. Instantly Indigo felt his magic return and the fog lift from his mind. The medic shook his head and put a hoof to his forehead. "Are you going to be okay?" Indigo knew that spells like that required a transfer of energy from one pony to another, and the energy one was received was equal to the amount put out. And Indigo felt just as good as before the battle. and he had stronger magic than a lot of unicorns. "Yeah. We created a pool of magic to draw from before the battle. I haven't lost anything,"

Indigo nodded to the medic as he walked off. He noticed the privates were still staring at him and huffed impatiently. "Well? Go! Off the wall, come one! we're very far from done here!" the soldiers snapped out of their trance and moved off quickly. Indigo sighed and teleported down to the ground below, where already the army was struggling with the minions. Indigo took a deep breath and picked up a stray sword, turning to face a group of minions.

With a final stab Indigo dispatched the troublesome minion. This one had been harder than most. Probably one of the ones created to be a captain or other high ranked official. Indigo stood up and trotted toward the general. For the past few hours the army had been pushing further and further into the empire. To Indigo, however, they were moving too slowly. It also worried him that there had been no sign of King Sombra. He had worked very hard to secure control of this place and it seemed he was giving it up too easily. "General! We have secured the river crossings and are advancing toward the citadel at this very moment. We have been held up a little on the left flank, but we are making good progress, sir!" Indigo said as he snapped to attention. The general turned to him and gave a small smile. Indigo always liked the general, he was an older earth pony with a white mane and tail and gray coat. He was always kind, and many smile lines crinkled his gentle eyes. the general looked exhausted. The day had obviously been wearing him thin. "That's good. The less ponies can be lost in this needless battle the better,"

A glint high above caught Indigo's eye. Something was coming straight for them from atop the castle. Indigo took a step forward and squinted to get a better look. A dark shape moved incredibly quickly and Indigo thought he just saw a glint of green and red. Too late Indigo realized what it was. His eyes went wide as he took several steps back.

"General! Get down!"

"What?" the general looked up as the dark mass took form in the air and shot a beam of bubbling dark energy straight for him. Indigo shot it with a magical blast of his own and it exploded in mid-air. The general stumbled back and Indigo took a protective stance in front of him. This was not a good situation, not at all. They were far behind the lines and everypony but Indigo, the general and some of his staff were there.

The dark form landed and took a completely solid shape at last. Not forty feet in front of Indigo stood King Sombra himself. The greatest villain to face Equestria since Discord himself was there, and he did not seem happy. The king opened his eyes and looked first to Indigo then the General. He smiled and chuckled a little. Sombra's horn glowed and the air rippled before a wicked black and red sword shimmered into existence. The swords double edged blade gleamed coldly and a large red crystal was set into the pommel, but otherwise it looked normal, despite being nearly five feet long. The simplicity of the sword was what made it so terrifying. It was not for show, like the ones the army took on parade. No, it was for one thing. Killing.

Indigo snarled and drew his own sword. The black steel slid slowly from the sheath on his back. Indigo's sword was showier than Sombra's, with an intricately designed crossguard of twisting black steel. The hilt was laid with soft fabric and there was a diamond inlaid in the carved pommel. The blade flowed in a leaf shape, the black metal inlaid with white dots that looked like stars. It was as if a piece of the night sky had been taken and forged into a blade. The most dangerous thing about his sword though was the magic it was imbued with. It had been created by princess Luna over the course of three days and nights with her Alicorn magic. This single sword was more powerful than Indigo, and most unicorns for that matter. Sombra lazily twirled his sword through the air and casually strolled toward Indigo. "Do you really hope to defeat me?" the kings deep voice echoed. "You are nothing. You are but a measly, pathetic wretch," Indigo smiled and chuckled lightly. This caught Sombra a little off guard and he raised his eyebrow. In a flash Indigo's sword surged forward. Sombra jerked his up in surprise and there was a sharp clang as the two blades met. Indigo followed with two quick swipes and a backward slash. Sombra blocked these moves and jumped pack, distancing himself from Indigo. Okay, so there was a little more to this one.

Sombra slowly circled around, watching Indigo closely. Indigo turned and shot a bolt toward the king. He quickly flipped his sword and the magic bolt burst harmlessly against it. Sombra shot roiling magic toward Indigo's heart. A twinge of Indigo's sword saw the dark magic absorbed by the blade. He and the king stopped, staring unblinkingly at each other. The kings eyes were squinted in thought and Indigo was crouched low to the ground, ready to spring one way or another. "General," Indigo growled under his breath to the pony still behind him. "Get out of here. I've got this," the general stepped back then looked between him and the king. "Good luck Indigo. I'm coming back with help," with that the general bolted off.

The king chuckled again began pacing Indigo again. Indigo turned along with him, matching the king move for move. Sombra's eyes flashed black and he stamped his hoof into the ground. A black streak shot toward Indigo as black crystals erupted from the ground. Indigo yelped a little in surprise and had to jump to get out of the way. He rolled across the ground to avoid a blast of magic and quickly spun to his hooves. With a savage roar Indigo swung his sword through the air. The hard steel whistled as it sailed the thirty or so feet between him and Sombra. The king blocked the blow with his own sword and Indigo went on to indirectly fight the king for several minutes. He used every sword fighting technique he could think of, but the kings defense seemed impenetrable. Finally Indigo overshot a jab and Sombra caught the pommel of the sword with the flat of his own blade and sent it sailing several feet off to the left, where it impaled itself in a crystal building with a sharp clack. Laughing his triumph, Sombra shot his sword like an arrow at Indigo.

So this was how it would end for him. Killed by King Sombra, what an honor. Even as the sword flashed toward him he knew he could not block it in time. Or dodge. Or do anything really. In a moment he would feel that malicious black steel slide into his chest and then...he wouldn't feel anymore. When the sword was just mere feet from Indigo there was a bright flash and suddenly th sword went skittering across the ground. A dark form rose from the ground and faced the king. Princess Luna's astral mane flowed in the northern wind and the dull gray light shone pale against her navy blue battle armor.

Indigo smiled and stepped up next to his mistress, wrenching his sword free with his magic and drawing it to him. "Fancy meeting you here, princess," Indigo said as, for what felt like the eighteenth time, he started circling Sombra. Indigo felt smugly satisfied to see that Sombra looked much more reluctant. He was trying to maneuver himself so he could kill Indigo quickly and only have one opponent. Luna easily saw through this and not so gently pushed Indigo out a little bit, putting herself between him and Sombra. The message was clear. If Sombra wanted to fight, he would fight them both.

"What's the matter Sombra? Lost your nerve for fighting anything except mortal soldiers?" that comment hit Indigo a little harder than it should have. Sombra smirked and changed the direction of his pacing, forcing Luna to do the same. "No," was all Sombra said before he materialized a second blade and lunged. Luna pulled her halberd seemingly from nowhere and met Sombra's swords with a clang. Indigo ducked to avoid a lazy spell sent his way by Sombra and took an experimental swipe at the king. He barely noticed and only sent another sloppy beam at Indigo. As a warrior Indigo was almost offended. Oh well, Sombra didn't want to take him seriously, fine, that was his choice. Indigo took several steps back and reached into Alicorn magic Luna had imbued his blade with. The two before him were struggling back and forth. Furious blows were exchanged between them. It seemed Luna's halberd was the perfect match for Sombra's duel wield. The fight was actually quite mesmerizing. Oh well, too bad it had to end.

Indigo took a deep breath and whistled as loud as he could. Luna did nothing to acknowledge him but smile. With a final shove and flurry of her halberd Luna jumped back, using her wings to gain more distance. As soon as Luna was clear Indigo released the torrent of magic contained within the sword. Sombra turned, wide eyed, and tried to cast a shield as the casting beam of pulsing blue energy carried him through one of the crystal buildings, which collapsed with a screeching groan and sent up a cloud of fine dust. Both Luna and Indigo stared slack jawed in the direction the beam had carried Sombra. "I knew I had put power into that sword of yours but..." Luna trailed off and slowly approached the rubble.

An angry roar filled the air and a large magic blast came out of the dust. Luna sidestepped but it missed her completely, instead hitting Indigo's sword. The blade was wrenched from his magical grasp and sent flying toward the citadel. "NO!" Indigo screamed as his beloved sword was lost. There was a large crack and he and Luna turned back to the rubble. Sombra rose from the wreckage, and he looked furious. As he and Luna squared up again there was a blinding flash of light that quickly faded to reveal Princess Celestia floating in the air, golden armor spotless and resplendent. To Indigo it was a very sharp contrast to Luna's armor, which was much more practical and was actually scuffed from fighting with the army. He held a certain...not quite disdain, but detachment toward Celestia. He had always thought higher of Luna than he did of Celestia. Nevertheless, he was glad to see her at the moment. Sombra wasn't.

The shadow king snarled as Celestia reared back her head and loosed a torrent of magic toward him. Sombra jumped back to avoid it, only to be hit in quick succession by Luna's and Indigo's respectively. The king grunted and fell forward only to quickly get up and try to counter yet another wave of magical attack. By unspoken concent, Luna flew up to meet her sister in the air. The two's horns connected and magic began to surge around them. "We gave you ample warning, Sombra! You leave us no choice but to destroy you!" Celestia's powerful voice echoed. The king only snarled and shot more beams toward the princesses, which only twisted and bent harmlessly around them. Indigo pulled back a little bit. He had a hunch of what was coming next, and it wasn't something you wanted to be near. The sister's closed eyes opened in unison, and they were flaring a brilliant white. A massive beam of white light shot from the sister's horns and enveloped Sombra. Indigo watched in awe as the king reared back, screaming in pain as he was torn apart and whisked away to the north. The last part of the king to go was his head, and Indigo saw his horn glow before it too, disappeared.

The sisters landed back on the ground and turned to face Indigo. Before either could speak, there was a great rumble that Indigo was sure was heard throughout the empire. As one all of the buildings, the wall, even the grand castle itself, began to vanish. Celestia gasped as she looked around. "He wouldn't..." she muttered to herself. But Indigo and Luna knew it was time to take action. They both extended the range of their teleportation as far as it would go, and Indigo could feel other unicorns and Celestia doing the same. To prevent the entire army from being shredded into confetti, Celestia imposed with her mind where to teleport to to each and every unicorn. Right outside the wall. Right where they had attacked not hours before. Indigo felt the vague impression of a countdown in his head. he distinctly heard ONE and funneled all the energy he could into his teleportation. A second later Indigo found himself in an open plain, the ponies of the army strewn randomly about for more than a mile. But...something was wrong. Indigo turned and what he saw almost made his heart stop. The Crystal Empire was gone.

Indigo sat bolt upright and gasped, startling Twilight and Zecora, who were talking quietly around the pot. Indigo quickly jumped out of the bed and just stood there, staring at the floor. "Hey, Indigo," Twilight said, waving a hoof in front of his face. Was this how she got when she zoned out? Man was it annoying. "Indigo, did the potion work?" she asked with curiosity and a little excitement. "I...I'm not sure," with this Indigo surprised Twilight by walking out the door. Twilight started and said a fumbled thank you and goodbye to a baffled Zecora before she followed the darker unicorn.


End file.
